In this post, I will be giving you my opinion on the best high protein low carb dog food that are high quality, healthy and does not have all those unnecessary fillers.
Summary
Best high protein low carb dog dry food
Overall best
Ketona dog food: 46% protein and about 6% carbohydrate, grain, and made in the US. It has 2 different recipes; salmon and chicken.
First runner up
ZIWI peak original series air-dried recipes: about 44% protein and 3 % carbohydrate, made and sourced in New Zealand. it has a chicken recipe, lamb recipe, mackerel & lamb recipe, tripe & lamb recipe, and venison recipe. It is grain-free.
Second runner up
Orijen Regional Red dry dog food: contains 38% protein and about 20%, and has only one recipe whose first 5 ingredients in this food are fresh beef, wild boar, lamb, pork liver, and beef liver. It is made in the US and is grain-free.
Last choice
The Purina ONE True Instinct high protein dry food recipes: contain protein of 32% and carbs of about 28%, and has only two recipes, the real beef and salmon recipes, and the chicken and duck flavour. It is made in the US and is grain-free.
Best high protein low carb dog wet food
Overall best
ZIWI peak original series wet food recipes: contains about 40.9 % protein and 6.3 % carbohydrate on a dry matter basis, made and sourced in New Zealand. it has a chicken recipe, lamb recipe, mackerel & lamb recipe, tripe & lamb recipe, and venison recipe. It is grain-free.
First runner up
Visionary pet foods freeze-dried keto medallions recipes: contain 36% protein and 11% carbohydrates on a dry matter basis. There is a beef recipe and a chicken recipe. It does not contain grains, potatoes, peas, carrots, or sweet potatoes.
Last choice
Purina One True Instinct wet foods: carb content of about 15% and 40.99% protein on dry matter basis, has different recipes and most recipes have grain-free versions for those dogs that cannot eat grains
if you do not really mind the protein content that much, you can check out a wide range of low carb dog food on our review post about dog foods with low carbohydrate content.
Best high protein low carb dry dog food
Overall best
Ketona dog food
This high protein low carb dog food contains about 46% protein and about 6% carbohydrate. It does not contain corn, wheat, soy, potato, rice, barley, and sweet potato.
It does not contain by-product meal and artificial flavours and it is grain and tuber-free.
Guaranteed analysis:
Crude Protein (Min.): 46.0%
Crude Fat (Min.): 16.0%
Crude Fiber (Max.): 11.0%
Moisture (Max.): 11.0%
Dietary Starch (Max.): 6.0%
Sugar (Max.): 0.5%
This dog food has two flavors; chicken flavour and salmon flavour. The main ingredients in both flavors are chicken or salmon and they are in larger amounts than in other dog food.
The food is made for adult dogs, so don’t feed it to your young dog.
The food smelled and looked good, I also gave my dogs to taste it and they seemed to be okay with the taste, the kibble is medium (not large, not too small) and it was not too strong or soft.
The manufacturers have a 30-day money-back guarantee on their site, so if you buy it and your dog does not do well on it, you can return it.
These foods are made in the US.
Calorie content (calculated): 3488kcal/kg(ME) or 451kcal/cup(ME).
Reviews( zoom in)
The food costs about $118.74 for a 24.2-pound bag.
First runner up
ZIWI peak original series air-dried recipes
This is a high protein low carb dog food that is air dried and has different recipes, it has a chicken recipe, lamb recipe, mackerel & lamb recipe, tripe & lamb recipe, and venison recipe.
These recipes have about 44% protein and 3 % carbohydrate. They are 96% PeakPrey ratios of meat, organs, seafood, and bone. They contain superfoods like cold-washed green tripe, New Zealand mussels, and organic kelp.
The ingredients are sourced from New Zealand and their meats are from grass-fed free-range animals. It does not have grains, potato, legumes, glycerine, rendered meat or meals.
From the smell I could tell I was fresh and the texture was okay. it doesn’t come in form of regular kibble, it is somehow square-shaped and flat.
It is stated that they are made for all life stages and all breeds but I suggest you ask your vet if you want to feed it to your puppy.
The calorie content for the various recipes ranges from about 4800 to 500 ME/kg (calculated), 469 to 475 kcal ME/level cup (calculated)
Reviews (zoom in)
It is made in New Zealand and it costs about $29.58 for a 16oz bag.
Second runner up
Orijen Regional Red dry dog food
This dog food contains 38% protein and about 20% carbohydrate, the first 5 ingredients in this food are fresh beef, wild boar, lamb, pork liver, and beef liver. It is a whole prey dog food and it is stated on their site that they use free range animals. It is grain-free and it is made in the US.
This food comes in regular-size kibble, it is not hard or too soft and it looks and smells quality, unlike some dog foods.
It is said to be for all life stages and breeds but I suggest you ask your vet if you want to feed it to your puppy. It was also not formulated to meet the nutritional levels of large breed dogs (70 lbs or more as an adult), so if you want to feed it to your large dog, you need to ask your vet for a better feeding guide.
Calorie content (calculated ME): 3860 Kcal/kg, (463 kcal per 8oz. cup)
Reviews (zoom in)
It costs about $30 at the time of making this post.
Last choice for High protein low carb dry dog food
The Purina ONE True Instinct high protein low carb dog food dry recipes
This dry food has only two recipes, the real beef and salmon recipes, and the chicken and duck flavor. They both have crude protein of 32%, crude fat of 17%, crude fiber of 3%, and moisture of 12%. I used a crude ash amount of 6% when calculating the amount of carbohydrates.
From my calculation, the amount of carbohydrate in both recipes are estimated to be around 30% which is lower than their other dry foods.
Both recipes don’t contain any poultry by-products meals, so they contain more whole meat which is very good for your dog.
They contain vitamin E, different types of vitamin B, and vitamin D which are antioxidants that help protect the immune system and enhance resistance against infectious diseases.
The two recipes are not gluten-free food, so if your dog has a gluten allergy, then you should ask your vet before buying it for your dog.
Glucosamine is part of the ingredients of these foods, it helps to promote healthy joints in your dog and can help reduce the risk of joint problems when your dog begins to age.
They have a good amount of calcium and vitamin D which maintains healthy bones throughout life.
The two recipes are not grain-free but the grains are in a small amount.
I gave the food to my dogs to taste and two of them seemed to like it but the other one did not like the taste, the texture and size of the kibble was okay.
Reviews
The calorie content for both flavors is about 3959 kcal/kg, 357 kcal/cup (calculated) (ME).
If your dog needs low-carb food and is okay with eating grains and gluten, then you can try the beef and salmon recipe or the chicken and duck recipe whichever one your dog is fine with
The eight-pound pack cost about $15.99 at the time of making the post.
These foods are made for adult dogs, not for puppies and if you have a pregnant or nursing dog, I suggest you ask your vet if it is okay to feed them this.
Best high protein low carb wet dog food
Overall best
ZIWI peak original series wet food recipes
This food has different recipes, it has a chicken recipe, lamb recipe, mackerel & lamb recipe, tripe & lamb recipe, and venison recipe.
These recipes have about 40.9 % protein and 6.3 % carbohydrate on a dry matter basis. They are 96% PeakPrey ratios of meat, organs, seafood, and bone. They contain superfoods like cold-washed green tripe, New Zealand mussels, and organic kelp.
The ingredients are sourced from New Zealand and their meats are from grass-fed free-range animals. It does not have grains, potato, legumes, glycerine, rendered meat or meals.
All my dogs loved the two flavors I bought for them to taste, it smelled so fresh and it was very meaty and soft.
It is stated that they are made for all life stages and all breeds but I suggest you ask your vet if you want to feed it to your puppy.
The calorie content for the various recipes ranges from about 1250 to 1325 ME/kg (calculated), 212 to 225 kcal ME/level cup (calculated)
Reviews
It is made in New Zealand and it costs about $57.60 for a 6oz case of 12
First runner up
Visionary pet foods freeze-dried keto medallion recipes
This high protein low carb dog food contains 36% protein and 11% carbohydrates on a dry matter basis. There is a beef recipe and a chicken recipe. It does not contain grains, potatoes, peas, carrots, or sweet potatoes.
An old lady in my neighbourhood feeds this to her dobberman and he looks very healthy. The medallions are very meaty and don’t contain fillers.
They are raw and freeze-dried but if you don’t want to give your dog raw food in any form, you can cook it.
They are 35 medallions in a 3.5oz bag. This is made up mainly of meat which is good for your dog and is made and sourced in the US.
Calorie content: for both recipes; 5560 kcal/kg, 158 kcal/oz, 16 kcal/medallion.
Reviews(zoom in)
At the time of making this post, this food cost about $9.99 for a 3.5oz pack.
Last choice for High protein low carb wet dog food
Purina One True Instinct wet foods
They are in different flavors and from my calculation, they are the Purina foods with the lowest carb content of about 15% and 40.99% protein on a dry matter basis. Most flavors of this food have the grain-free version, if your dog can not have grains and the grain-free ones don’t have gluten, so if your dog can’t have gluten, you can try them.
They state on the can that there are no fillers which I could believe because they look much meaty than some canned foods.
They contain vitamin E, different types of vitamin B, and vitamin D which are antioxidants that help protect the immune system and enhance resistance against infectious diseases.
They have a good amount of calcium and vitamin D which maintains healthy bones throughout life.
These foods are made for adult dogs, not for puppies and if you have a pregnant or nursing dog, I suggest you ask your vet if it is okay to feed them this.
Reviews (zoom in)
At the time of making this blog post, a 13 oz can cost about $1.6
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Important information
I am not a vet, any advice shared in this post is from my personal experience, deep research, and advice from dog parents in the Reddit and Facebook dog groups and dog forums that I am a member of.
A Lot of dog parents are finding it hard to find high protein low carb dog food both dry and wet food, so if this post was helpful to you, please share it with people or groups that might need it.
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